Bloom Baby Classes – why are they such a hit with parents?

I had the pleasure of attending 2 Bloom Baby classes this week – Caterpillar Club for little ones under 6 months and Busy Bees for those over 6 months. I had heard great things about the classes and that they were proving really popular with parents and after spending time in an oasis of music, lights, bubbles, pom poms and water play, it wasn’t hard to see why!

What is Bloom Baby?

Bloom Baby is run by Emma De Carteret who, having been on maternity leave with her daughter, realised there wasn’t much choice when it came to sensory classes for young children in Guernsey. She bit the bullet and decided to put all her energy and passion into putting that right, and launched Bloom Baby Guernsey in December 2021, and she’s never looked back!

Bloom Baby Classes are multisensory 45 minute sessions using music, lights, sounds, instruments and props to encourage baby’s physical, emotional, cognitive and social development. Little ones are constantly learning throughout the session, whilst having fun and I was delighted to be asked to sit in on some sessions to see for myself what Emma offers.

Caterpillar Club - fun for babies

Bloom Baby classes take place at KGV in the Spensley Room, a lovely clean space, and when you enter you are instantly drawn to the centre mat which is edged by a 19.5ft soft toy caterpillar (I later found out this is Cooper who makes an appearance at every session). Mats are placed around the edge of the circle for babies to be laid on, and in the centre there is an amazing light which looks like an octopus with a hundred coloured tentacles!

Bubbles

After introductions, the session kicked off with bubble time, with babies lying on their tummy facing into the circle (or being held if they weren’t keen on tummy time). Emma has a rather impressive bubble machine that kicked out more bubbles than I have seen in such a short space of time, and the babies absolutely loved it. Emma went around the circle spending time in front of each baby so they got a close look and she also had a hand puppet that she was tickling the children with, this instantly got them engaged and fully awake (a number of the babies had been asleep on the way to the session!).

Flying time

Next the parents were asked to stand up holding their baby along their arm in a flying position. Babies were moved in and out getting up close and personal to the baby next to them, and it was lovely to see the recognition on their faces, with little smiles. All the activities are accompanied by the Bloom soundtrack, which adds a nice atmosphere to the class.

Pom Poms

This was followed by a definite highlight, cheerleader pom pom time! Parents shook the pom poms over and around baby, in time with the music, encouraging baby to follow the movement of the pom poms with their eyes. The little ones were truly mesmerised by the movement of the pom poms and even after the song was over, a number of the children kept grabbing them.

Rainbow parachute

After a rendition of The Little Green Frog song, which included Makaton, it was time for something pretty spectacular…the rainbow parachute, which was like nothing I had seen before thanks to the coloured stars hanging on the underside. Emma asked for a parent to help by holding the end of the parachute and they moved it up and down above the baby’s faces. This along with the lovely music made it such a special moment. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

Baby development moves

The next section was about working baby’s muscles, so this included bicycle legs (working leg and pelvic muscles), bouncing baby on parents legs (good for abdominal and neck muscles) and soothing baby rub which included rubbing babies’ arms and legs, across the body, arm circles, foot rub and more!

Chill parachute

The first section of the class ended with what Emma called the chill parachute. I thought the rainbow parachute was impressive, this was on another level! The chill parachute has hundreds of coloured ribbons hanging on the underside, that coupled with the soft, soothing music, it was making me sleepy let alone the babies! With the lights turned off, babies were laid on the centre mat (with parents holding the edges of the parachute) which was lowered up and down over them. I couldn’t believe the effect it had on all the babies, it was like they were in a trance! The babies literally never looked away or fidgeted as their eyes were fixed on the parachute and the ribbons.

Theme time – frogs

Each week the classes have a different theme, the week I attended it was frogs and I was surprised how much Emma puts into the theme. To the centre mat she added frog balls, soft toy frogs, frog sponges, inflatable frogs and had crochet frog hats and frog headbands for each child. On the other side of the room were 2 tuff trays with warm water in them for water play, along with little plastic frogs and lilly pads. It was now free time for babies to explore the different areas and it was lovely seeing the babies enjoying splashing in the water, but also seeing the mums having a chance to chat at the same time. The water play was a big hit and apparently this is the first time Emma has introduced water play to a session (the parents had been advised to bring a spare change of clothes)

Photo opportunity

Each week Emma sets up a photo area related to that week’s theme. Parents are free to take photos of their child in the photo area which is a really lovely keepsake.

Baby massage

Emma gave everyone a 5-minute warning for the end of theme time, so babies could get dried off, and then it was time for the guided baby massage section. Parents were given a choice of 2 natural baby massage oils (Coconut and Grapeseed) and they were talked through how to massage their baby (rubbing arms and legs, rubbing around the tummy etc). The calming music and dimmed lighting made this a really special bonding moment for baby and mum. As Emma announced that that was it for this week, it was totally silent as all the babies were on the verge of sleep and parents looked really chilled.

What do mum’s think?

I was very impressed with the Caterpillar Club class I watched as the parents and children seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, so I grabbed a few mums for a quick chat at the end of the session to get their thoughts.

''This was my first Bloom Baby class and I really liked how fast paced it was. Imogen is so little that she wasn't as keen to do some bits but because it moved onto the next thing quickly she could really enjoy the bits she liked. I really liked the massage and will definitely come again.''

Vicki with Imogen

''The class is so varied that my son loves everything. We started coming when he was only 8 weeks old, and I have been able to see his progression and he now engages more with everything. We do the massage at home and have downloaded the soundtrack so we play the Bloom songs at home too.''

Alex with Jack

Busy Bees

Busy Bees classes are perfect for babies over 6 months and the class I watched had mums with their little ones and a grandparent with her granddaughter. I expected Busy Bees to be the same as Caterpillar Club, but it was really well tailored for the slightly older children and was much more about child development than I had anticipated.

Bubbles

The class started with the ever-popular bubble machine, but this time the children were encouraged to pop the bubbles with their thumb and fore finger, and they loved attempting to do it.

Songs with Makaton

The big difference between the two classes was the use of Makaton in the Busy Bees class. Following on from the bubbles there was a series of songs (Wake-Up song, Grand Old Duke of York and The Little Green Frog) where everyone was shown the makaton sign for keywords in the song, along with actions, like bouncing their little ones on their knees in Grand Old Duke of York with lots of lovely eye contact. Emma was really good at explaining the Makaton signs and explaining the simple actions for each song.

Rainbow Parachute and Pom Poms

I was pleased to see that the key engaging things from the Caterpillar Club were used in the older class, but with a slight variation. The rainbow parachute was just as big a hit in this class and had its usual mesmerising effect on the kids, and it was lovely to see them trying to reach the stars. As for pom poms, they clearly have a universal appeal for those of all ages, with all the children enjoying watching them as they were moved along to ‘Wind the Bobbin Up’.

Clicking sticks

A new addition to the class was clicking sticks which looked like giant breadsticks, which might be why all the children instantly put them in their mouth! (Emma reassured everyone that they were sterilised before the class). The children were encouraged to hold the sticks and Emma kept telling the benefits of what they were doing, e.g. repetition to build cognitive development.

Theme time and photos

The theme is the same for both classes and similar frog toys were added to the centre circle and fresh warm water was added to the tuff trays. This group were much more active with the water play and everyone ended up soaked!

Chill Parachute

The sessions ended with the chill parachute and a goodbye song. This age group could sit on the centre mat and enjoy the ribbons coming towards them and it was lovely to see them really watching as the parachute was moving up and down and a few of them tried to grab the ribbons as they got near.

Great feedback

I spoke to some of the parents after the Busy Bees class and a number of them said that they had been coming to classes for a while because their little ones enjoyed it so much and they really appreciated the hard work Emma put into the sessions, especially the theming. I was genuinely impressed with both classes and how upbeat Emma was throughout, and it’s something my girls would have loved when they were younger.

''This was my first Bloom Baby class and it exceeded my expectations. I didn't realise there would be Makaton along with all the lights and music. The class was so well organised and I would definitely come back again''